Two children living in the District's largest homeless shelter have tested positive for elevated lead levels.
While it's still unknown where the children came in contact with the lead, one of the cafeterias inside D.C. General did test positive for lead, forcing the closure of the area where families share their meals. City health officials are now testing the entire facility and offering lead testing to all the children still living there.
The children who tested positive for elevated lead levels are 9 months old and 2 years old. They are not related and live in separate rooms in the shelter.
"There was nothing in their rooms where they were staying; there was a common area where there was some chipping paint in the cafeteria there and the paint tested positive to have lead in it," said Laura Green Zeilinger, director of the D.C. Department of Human Services. "So we immediately sectioned off that room."
It's not clear whether the children were exposed at the shelter, officials have cautioned. One of the children tested positive before moving into D.C. General, and the other had lived there a few weeks before testing positive, so it's possible the shelter was not the source.
But officials aren't taking any chances.
"We are also doing a full inspection of the entire facility to make sure proactively that there are not any other places that could be a potential source of lead," Zeilinger said.
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Lead poisoning typically originates with old chipping paint and can cause serious physical and mental problems. It has been linked to low IQs.
Residents were told about the lead issue Tuesday morning. Every child who lives at the shelter may have a lead test done on-site. Zeilinger said they will offer the testing Tuesday and over the next couple of days.
More than 200 families with more than 400 young children live in this shelter right now.
"Our next steps are to do all the common areas, any room where a child under the age of 2... is staying," Zeilinger said. "We'll prioritize those units first."
The two children who tested positive are still living at the shelter. They are receiving medical treatment.
